HOT TOPICS:

Friday Opinuendo: On motions, departures, forensics and more

Pioneer Press

Posted:
08/15/2013 12:01:00 AM CDT

Updated:
08/15/2013 05:38:18 PM CDT

Going through the motions

The Dayton administration, which whiffed on calculating pull-tab revenue, proposes to audit the Wilfs' real estate business in the wake of a legal finding in New Jersey of fraud and breach of contract (21 years later). Assuming the suit has been moving through the courts for a very long time, it's remarkable (or perhaps not) that Minnesota state officials were either oblivious to the issue, or knew about it but failed to do the due diligence up front.

Either way -- given that this stuff is so complicated that it took the courts 21 years to wade through a $50 million issue -- an outfit that can't figure out pull-tabs has roughly zero chance of figuring out the Wilf empire. But it makes for good theater.

Good for Lake Elmo

3M and its employees pay taxes to the state and municipalities, and then their taxes are used to sue 3M.

As reported in the Pioneer Press, "despite hundreds of studies, PFCs never have been shown to affect human health -- in any dose." Not to mention that 3M claims to have spent about $100 million in mitigation efforts -- to mitigate something that has "never been shown to affect human health -- in any dose."

Lake Elmo has had the good sense to depart the lawsuit. Meanwhile, the state and others press on in harassing one of Minnesota's signature businesses.

Minnesota nice: Take a great Minnesota business, tax it to the hilt and, for good measure, sue it. Not surprisingly, Minnesota corporate growth comes mostly outside state borders, given the tax climate.

Advertisement

What is surprising is that these corporations remain headquartered in the state despite the harassment. Good for Lake Elmo. Maybe the rest of the "sue 3M" crowd should give a little more thought to the questionable wisdom of biting the hand that feeds them.

Super vs. Super

The Twin Cities' superintendents of schools -- Valeria Silva in St. Paul and Bernadeia Johnson in Minneapolis -- are facing off in a social media challenge: Which of them can gain more Twitter followers between Aug. 1 and Labor Day.

"Now I will concede that she has more actual followers than I do -- but that's not the challenge," Silva writes on the district website. At issue is how many followers each superintendent can add by the deadline.

At stake: The loser will treat the winner -- and her spouse -- to dinner in the winner's city.

"There are a couple of St. Paul restaurants I've been eyeing for some time, and I think it's about time I visit them -- on Superintendent Johnson's tab," Silva says.

The tally at spps.org shows Silva with a substantial lead. Follow her at @SPPS_SuptSilva.

Real-life CSIs

It's Forensic Science Week, and a proclamation from Gov. Mark Dayton made official the state's participation in a national effort to increase awareness of forensic science as an important public service.

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension labs in St. Paul and Bemidji in 2012 received more than 63,300 pieces of evidence related to more than 18,500 criminal investigations. BCA crime scene personnel processed 38 crime scenes across the state.

Their work may be popularized on TV, but it deserves notice because, as BCA Superintendent Wade Setter says, it helps "exonerate the innocent and identify the guilty."

Invested in peace

The role of women in building a more peaceful world will be the focus of a gathering in St. Paul next week that will draw female political and civic leaders from the Middle East and North Africa.

Two open-to-the-public sessions of the convening of Forward Global Women offer an opportunity for some big-picture perspective:

-- A keynote address and panel discussion will feature Professor Monica McWilliams, co-founder of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition and a representative in negotiations leading to the nation's 1998 peace agreement. It will be held Aug. 19 at Cowles Auditorium at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota (registration at 9:30 a.m., program from 10 a.m. to noon).

Minnesota state Sen. Sandy Pappas, a program co-sponsor, will moderate the panel discussion, which includes local and national representatives.

-- A "World Cafe" at which participants and community members will gather for a night of food and discussion on peace building and global human rights on Aug. 21 at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul (registration at 6:30 p.m., program from 7 to 9 p.m.).

The most important reason for her involvement, Pappas told us, is personal. Her three daughters and their families all live in northern Israel.

She is "personally invested in peace in the Middle East," she said, and the conference helps create a "different dynamic among women who are dedicated to peace."